Peer AssessmentDamian Gordon

Part of the marking for this assessment will be done by you...

So 10% of the marks are going on your performance within the group

To allow me to calculate this mark you are going to have to give a mark to each member of your group, and I will take all of the marks for each person and average them out

Peer Assessment

These marks must be done carefully and with consideration...

Be kind and be generous to others when you give them a mark

To do well yourself in this process make it clear at meetings what you are working on

Peer Assessment

You have to give a mark to each of the group members based on their performance:◦ NOT on whether or not they have the same

technical skills or writing ability as you◦ NOT on whether they were participating remotely

or were present in person◦ NOT on whether you thought a lot of their

contributions were irrelevant, and that yours were always 100% relevant

◦ NOT on your personal view of them

Peer Assessment

Mark based on how they contributed to the assessment AND to the team...

Peer Assessment

It is important to recognise that different people will have contributed differently to the project: ◦ some may have thought of a lot of ideas◦ some will have written a lot of the report◦ some will have helped the team bond and helped you

work as a unit by cooking a meal,◦ some will have done a lot of technical work◦ etc.

all of these activities contribute to the successful completion of a project and should be recognised

Peer Assessment

At the start of this process you should sit down as a group and decide on who will do what parts of the assessment and roughly the timeframe for each task (using a methodology like SCRUM can help you with this)

Now decide a bit of leeway for everyone, if any member can’t contribute for a few meetings because of personal circumstances decide that that’s OK, there will be no recriminations as long as everyone is kept informed

Peer Assessment

You might consider criteria such as the following for how you will mark each other:1. Reliability and Responsibility 2. Participation in Group Work 3. Intellectual Contribution 4. Contribution to Technical Work 5. Contribution to Written Work

Peer Assessment

As well as the tasks, look at the roles each of you may play

You might look at Meredith Belbin’s Team Roles for inspiration (noting that each person can play multiple and overlapping roles)...

Peer Assessment

Plants are creative, imaginative, unorthodox team-members who solves difficult problems

Resource Investigators explores opportunities, make contacts, shares external information; negotiates with outsiders; responds well to challenges

Monitor Evaluators contribute a measured and dispassionate analysis and, through objectivity, stops the team committing itself to a misguided task

Belbin’s Roles

Co-ordinators Clarifies goals; helps allocate roles, responsibilities, and duties; articulates group conclusions

Implementers are practical thinkers who can create systems and processes that will produce what the team wants.

Completer Finishers are the detail people within the team. They have a great eye for spotting flaws and gaps and for knowing exactly where the team is in relation to its schedule.

Belbin’s Roles

Teamworkers give personal support and help to others; are socially oriented and sensitive to others; they resolves conflicts; they calms the waters; they serve as an in-group diplomat

Shapers love a challenge and thrives on pressure, they push the group toward agreement and decisions and they can challenges others

Specialist bring 'specialist' knowledge to the team. Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated; they provide unique or rare expertise and skills

Belbin’s Roles

But people aren’t robots, even if they are undertaking these roles, they might not always fulfil their roles perfectly, so please give your group a bit of leeway as well

Belbin suggests some allowable weaknesses for each role...

Peer Assessment

Plants can be unorthodox or forgetful Resource Investigators can forget to

follow up on a lead Monitor Evaluators can be overly critical

and slow moving

Belbin’s Roles: Allowable Weaknesses

Co-ordinators can over-delegate leaving themselves little work to do

Implementers can be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes

Completer Finishers can be accused of taking their perfectionism to the extremes

Belbin’s Roles: Allowable Weaknesses

Teamworkers can become indecisive when unpopular decisions need to be made

Shapers can risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done

Specialist can have a tendency to focus narrowly on their own subject of choice

Belbin’s Roles: Allowable Weaknesses

When you are halfway through the project I suggest you have a meeting where you see what is working and see what is not working

Communicate honestly and clearly with each other

If someone isn’t completing their tasks, consider if there is any help you can give

Don’t blame, and don’t label, just express your own views, start each sentence with “I really feel that...”

Reassign roles and tasks where necessary

Peer Assessment

Try to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible

Clear communication is really important

If you get an e-mail you don’t like, phone the person or meet with them and discuss it

Don’t let things fester in the group

Peer Assessment

Have a final meeting before completing the assignment where each of you are given a chance to express what you did for the project, and how you felt it went (..so take notes during the project on the work you are doing...)

You are marking each member based on the tasks and the roles they undertook during this process.

Peer Assessment

These evaluations will be absolutely confidential.

No student will have any access to your evaluations at any time.

Each student will be informed about the overall picture of the evaluations she or he has received from others at the end of the course.

No student should ask any other student about these evaluations.

Peer Assessment